If anyone doubts Boston Ballet’s serious commitment to contemporary work, look no further than the current “Close to Chuck” program, which opened Thursday night at the Boston Opera House. It sports a newly commissioned world premiere by José Martinez, a work by resident choreographer Jorma Elo newly retooled for six of the company’s stellar dancers, and a reprise of Jirí Kylián’s provocative “Bella Figura,” giving audiences a welcome opportunity for yet another look at a major work by one of the ballet world’s undisputed masters. A challenging, visually striking program, it’s not for sissies.

Boston Ballet’s “Close to Chuck” (through March 2) ends in tranquility, but the majority of the performance is anything but calm. Perhaps the fires blazing on either side of the stage in Jiří Kylián’s “Bella Figura” best reflect the aura of Thursday’s opening night performance. The dancers performed with explosive energy, while remaining incredibly in sync with one another.

To celebrate its 25th season, Oregon Ballet Theatre is looking forward with a nod to its rich history. On Friday, artistic director Kevin Irving unveiled the 2014-'15 season, which includes important dances from the company's extensive repertoire, the company premiere of a full-length "Cinderella," and the debut of OBT II, a new offshoot dance program.

"Sports and equalties" minister Helen Grant punches back at criticism of her recent comments about engaging women in sport with more "feminine" pursuits like figure skating, ballet, and cheerleading.

Grant, who was a junior judo champion, pointed to her own list of sporting injuries as evidence that she did not consider sports to be gender specific and insisted she did not use the word "unfeminine". But she said it was important to offer choice and consider the fact that some teenage girls are turned off sport because they "want to look good and think sport might not allow them to do that".

Speaking at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, she told reporters: "I was specifically asked the question about what I, as the minister, was going to do about the girls who say they don't want to do sport because they see it as 'unfeminine'.

In this production, {Helen] Daigle appears in an unrecognizable guise, embodying Madge's fury and guile with aplomb, creating a larger-than-life stylized character that generated unease from her first appearance. The role of Madge has been played by men in other versions. Here, Madge's witches, or demons, are played by the men of the company (Roger Creel, Justin Michael Hogan, Sanjay Saverimuttu and Benjamin Wetzel at the performance I saw; also Jonathan Paul, Ryan Stokes, Rob Morrow and Christopher Scruggs), which creates an opportunity to give the excellent male corps more stage time in a story that is heavily weighted to female roles.

This will be the fourth time she has danced before a hometown audience with The Australian Ballet and she will perform in both Manon and Imperial Suite.

She was recently promoted to the rank of coryphée which has afforded her bigger roles, including that of “boy whore”. “There is a harlot scene in a brothel; a big dance number in Act II,” Fyfe explained.

Jenifer Ringer will be interviewed on WATD's South Shore Morning News.

Then at 8:41, Rob talks with Jenifer Ringer about her new book “Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet”. It’s Jenifer’s uplifting and funny memoir of her journey to become a professional ballerina and the story of her 23 years as a dancer at the New York City Ballet. It is also a meditation on body image and now it affects our identity and self-esteem.

My favorite spot in New York is: the West Village. I love going to Barbuto restaurant. It’s near the Jane hotel, which is where we got married. The hotel is cute and charming, and the bar downstairs is so beautiful.

Before going on stage, I eat: macaroni and cheese. A lot of people don’t like to do the carb thing before a performance, but if I get hungry on stage I feel like I’m out of energy.

An interview with Ethan Stiefel by Linda Herrick in The New Zealand Herald.

"I think it is very important to tour. First of all, just to speak in a very literal way, New Zealand is located where it is so it is important the company feels a real connectivity. But also our priority is to share what is happening culturally and arts-wise in New Zealand and get out on the road."

Of his own life, he says, “I’m taking theater acting very seriously. I’m practically retired from dance, though sometimes I go on stage in special projects. I have a few ideas still in my mind. But there is only so much time left. We’ll see. You never know what’s around the corner.”

Makarova did much to popularize the complete "Bayadère" in the West, and she has worked some magic on the women's corps. Granted, there were a few wobbles en attitude among the ranks Thursday and a couple of exaggerated extensions. But the corps feels the twin inspirations of music and movement more profoundly than it did 14 years ago. You sense occasionally that they are dancing with a single impulse.

With two such strong works for the program’s opening and middle ballets, Kevin O’Day’s frenetic “Here on End,” also a world premiere, was an endless stream of spins, twists and leaps that seemed to go on and on without purpose. What’s worse, the company didn’t look nearly as accomplished as in the Wang and Malerski ballets. The original score by John King, commissioned by Ballet BC and Turning Point, was almost equally to blame for the monotony; between the crashing music and the repetitive movement, “Here on End” felt like being trapped in a disco club, where you don’t want to be in the first place.